Bhubaneswar: Amid speculations about early panchayat elections in Odisha, the state government on Tuesday categorically ruled out any move to conduct the rural polls before the existing rural bodies complete their five-year term.
Sharing this information in the state Assembly, Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Naik made it clear that panchayat elections will not be held before February 2027.
Stating that no decision has been taken to conduct the polls ahead of the scheduled time; the Minister clarified that the panchayat elections will be held as per the stipulated schedule.
The Minister’s reply in the House put a halt to speculations about early rural polls in the state after state BJP president Manmohan Samal last month indicated that the panchayat elections could be held earlier than scheduled, possibly two to three months ahead of the census.
Speaking to party functionaries and elected local representatives, Samal had said that the panchayat elections are likely to be announce
d within the next six months, citing the census as a possible reason for advancing the timeline, and urged party workers to complete unfinished development works within this timeframe.
While official schedules from the State Election Commission point to polls likely in January-February 2027, Samal’s remarks had suggested the possibility of an advanced schedule to precede the national census, which requires updated local population figures.
However, State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi later stated that the polls will be conducted only after the existing rural bodies complete their five-year term.
Padhi explained that the panchayat elections have not yet been scheduled, and any decision on this will be taken at an appropriate time in accordance with constitutional provisions. He, however, said that necessary groundwork, including identification of polling booths and availability of ballot boxes, has begun at the sub-division level.
The last rural polls were held in the state in five phases starting from February 16, 2022, and the next elections are due in 2027.
It may be noted that the first phase of the 2027 Census — the house-listing operations — will be conducted over a 30-day period chosen by each State and Union Territory, sometime between April 1 and September 30, 2026. The second phase, which involves actual population enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027.